The state of the game.

[David Emerling]

Originally Posted by fastpitch

Knowing the rules and taking advantage in a game is a far cry from teaching cheating. In the first post I think the coach gains nothing but an opportunity to have her pitcher lose her focus. Getting girls to be aggressive baserunners is a challenge with most leaving late. Tue night our catcher told me she had made a somewhat colorful remark after a girl slid into her and knocked the ball out at the plate. In no uncertain terms I told her she'd better never do that again and in the team meeting reiterated that no one on the team will ever use foul language or direct disparaging remarks to the other team or the umpires. The other team's 3B had been doing that toward our dugout toward the latter part of the game. As a coach, that is just an opportunity for me to bring it to the attention of the BU and hopefully gain an advantage. I'd be interested to hear where you guys draw the line on disqualification for foul language.

No matter what the age, if the player uses foul language, it is an automatic ejection if any of the following are true:
(a) She is loud enough to be heard by the fans, or
(b) She accompanies her foul language with angry gestures (i.e. bat slamming, angry stares, throwing of equipment, stomping, etc.), or
(c) She is addressing another individual (i.e. name calling, taunting, etc.), or
(d) She uses an outrageously inflammatory or inappropriate word/phrase beyond what many would consider a "normal" expletive. (i.e. normal = sh*t!, d*mn!, cr*p!)

I tend to give more slack to older players.

I also call baseball games, if I had ejected every player who, after making an error or striking out, said, "Sh*t!" or "Son-of-a-b*tch", I'd have a thousand ejection notches on my belt.

The bottom line is: I eject players for inappropriate use of foul language. What is inappropriate? I know it when I see and hear it.

I don't recall this ever being a problem in any game I've ever called, nor, have I ever ejected a player or coach for the use of foul language. Have I ever heard foul language on the field? Hell, yes!

David Emerling
Memphis, TN